Peter Hartlaub

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San Francisco Chronicle
For 573 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 48% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 49% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 9.8 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Peter Hartlaub's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 56
Highest review score: 100 Alien
Lowest review score: 0 The Smurfs 2
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 246 out of 573
  2. Mixed: 189 out of 573
  3. Negative: 138 out of 573
573 movie reviews
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    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Hartlaub
    The Light Between Oceans
    As much as Fassbender, Vikander and Rachel Weisz, the feelings of isolation, despair and self-reproach deserve top billing in The Light Between Oceans.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Hartlaub
    9
    Taking your very small child to this movie is only a slightly better idea than a trip to "The Final Destination." With that warning out of the way, this action adventure is a big treat for more mature animation and science-fiction fans and a triumph for the young director.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Hartlaub
    Any Day Now
    The biggest strength of the movie is the chemistry between Cumming and Isaac Leyva, a first-time feature film actor with Down syndrome, who does as much to make these scenes work as the experienced actors he's sharing scenes with.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Hartlaub
    Dredd
    The themes are also dated. There are times when Dredd 3D feels like an escapist companion piece to "The Day After." But there we go again, thinking too much. No sense in ruining such a fine piece of cheap entertainment.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Hartlaub
    Christopher Robin
    It’s charming and filled with wonderful performances, and has a nuanced story that will have adults walking out of the theater thinking about their own inner Pooh, and questioning why the hell they’re working so hard.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Goosebumps
    Although the film’s content falls squarely within the PG rating, it provides about 20 percent more visual terror than you’re probably expecting. Plus, the presence of a scary clown should automatically trigger a special MPAA rating. (PG-C?) Take your 5-year-old knowing that he may be visiting your bed every night between now and Halloween.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    The Music Never Stopped
    The songs and a couple of strong performances are only good enough to make the film watchable, not exceptional.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Soul Surfer
    The script is weak, but everyone on the technical side of "Soul Surfer" is a pro. The scenes in the water flow together nicely, and the action is always coherent. Robb's scenes without an arm look seamless throughout the movie.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Hartlaub
    Smallfoot
    This is a quality movie, carefully disguised as a mediocre one. It’s a chore to get through the beginning, but builds a strong story, and leaves legitimate good feelings on the way out of the theater. Smallfoot is not a “The Lego Movie”-style surprise classic, but it’s better than most.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    The Shallows
    The Shallows is a very earnest woman-versus-shark film. It delivers the requisite thrills, including a surprisingly satisfying resolution. The heroine is capable; and the writers, who trap her on a rock for half the film, find ways to make her situation seem interesting. But the most important parts, the ones involving the shark, don’t feel genuine.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Mr. Peabody & Sherman
    You might need the assistance of a time machine to find a child who is clamoring for a Mr. Peabody & Sherman feature film remake.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Hartlaub
    The Railway Man
    For such a torment-filled story, the ending is surprisingly satisfying, with an important message that a lesser filmmaker might have telegraphed too much.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Sing
    Sing is a tribute to struggling live theater.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Ice Age: The Meltdown
    Less a story than a series of complicated slapstick bits.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Hartlaub
    Roll Bounce
    Funny and honest.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Hartlaub
    Day Watch
    While the sequel to "Night Watch" is an imperfect film, it's always interesting.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    More Than a Game
    The final message is a strong one: Even when the starting forward is one of the best high school players ever, basketball is still a team sport.
    • 42 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Ironclad
    The core fan base of this English sword battle drama will pay for the boundary-pushing blood and gore. Why bore them with things like plot and context and production values?
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Dolphin Tale 2
    It's a strain to poke fun at Dolphin Tale 2. Even more than the very solid first film, this is cynicism-free cinema; a place where snark goes to die. But while the wholesomeness, PG-rating positivity and conservation goals remain a strong selling point, the story simply isn't as good as the first one.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    It: Chapter Two
    It Chapter Two is a messier production that barely seems coherent even with the first film as a primer.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Hartlaub
    The Mist
    While it's riveting throughout, The Mist is a bit bloated.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Trouble with the Curve
    Trouble With the Curve has a problem tipping its pitches.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Hartlaub
    Unleashed
    When Danny takes off his collar for the last time, Besson's plan becomes clear: You may have paid for an hour and a half of escapist entertainment, but he just provided something much better.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Rise of the Guardians
    Innocence and joy are threatened by the Boogeyman, and from there the plot comes pretty close to mirroring this summer's "The Avengers" movie. Mostly in a good way.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 100 Peter Hartlaub
    Snowden
    Moviegoers will love or hate Oliver Stone and his politics until the end of time. With well-made movies such as Snowden, though, his skill as a filmmaker becomes much harder for the detractors to debate.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Roving Mars
    A workmanlike effort -- a precision piece of filmmaking that provides education for children and a refresher course that adults can benefit from as well.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Hartlaub
    The Night Before
    There’s still plenty of laughs left over for the audience, and the aggressive randomness of the script fuels some genuinely inventive comic moments. Although the writers of this R-rated cinematic binge frequently lose their focus, they never lose their sense of humor.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Glory Road
    If you can get past a few swear words, the film's simplicity makes Glory Road a good starting point to get young kids to talk about racism.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Renaissance
    Although intriguing to look at, Renaissance -- the latest animated film geared to adult audiences -- is undone by a plot that is ridiculously hard to follow and hackneyed.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Hartlaub
    Daybreakers
    Hawke is half-assed throughout, showing passion only when he's screaming like a little girl when something scary happens. The visuals have a dingy, unfocused quality, especially in the muddy visual-effects-enhanced backdrops. And some of the plot turns are awful. The vampire "cure" is so stupid, you'll want to walk out of the theater, even if you normally like this kind of movie.
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